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RTJ and Character Creation Information
Welcome to The Age of Darkness. Glad to see you're interested in playing, but first you need to be aware that this game is rated for Adults. So, before we get any further the following must be the first line in your RTJ: I am _(your RL age here)_ years old and legally allowed to view adult material in my place of residence. If it is not I will not respond to your RTJ. No exceptions. Period. The Basic Rules Point Allowances TRAIT BASE CREATION FREEBIE POINT COSTS (15) Attritubes 7/5/3 5 Abilities 13/9/5 2** Disciplines 3* 10 Backgrounds 5 1 Chi Virtues 4 3 Hun - 3 P'o - 1 Willpower - 1 *One Demon Art, two others. **3 if Martial Arts Willpower must equal final Hun score. Must have a minimum of 5 in Willpower and a P'o of 3 (either through raising the Hun, or Willpower independently). Guanxi You will be loyal to your wu based on the standard rules for guanxi: 5 + Charisma - or Yin (Whichever is higher) = Guanxi Rating. Guanxi works identically to Vinculum in the Sabbat. Merits and Flaws You cannot have more than seven points combined in Merits and Flaws. To calculate this total convert any negative numbers into positive. Banned Merits & Flaws: Any mentioned as not allowed in the Kindred of the East core book. Dharmas Allowed Dharmas: Any from the core book. Banned Dharmas: None at the moment. Capped Dharmas: None at the moment. Recommended Dharmas: Any from the core book. Backgrounds This thread is not going to spell out individual levels of these backgrounds. The published source material does that just fine. I am attempting to add some depth and consistency to these traits by forcing some depth beyond a handful of dots. Most Backgrounds will have varying degrees of quantity / quality mixing. Think of it like allocating your dots among different areas, people, etc... Lets say you have Influence, Gangs at 4. You could split those and have two mid-level gang members in two different gangs (or the same gang!). Split it further and you could have four individual grunts in four gangs (or the same gang!). Or, you can put all your eggs in one basket and grab up the gang's Underboss. For clarity purposes we'll call this "Allocation." it should be fairly obvious which backgrounds will work well with this. #Allies: Allies need to be have a sentence or two explaining who they are, your relationship, etc... Remember, Allies are essentially friends. They can also call on you for favors and support when they are in need. Failing to help them can result in losing the ally (and thus dots in this Background). Most importantly: Allies are mortal! #Contacts: Contacts work just like Allies only these people are less friendly and more professional. They are more likely to expect payment or favors in return for their assistance. Also, like Allies, they are usually mortal. You'll need to flesh out who, what, etc... No more than a sentence or two. #Haven: Haven is from the book Havens of the Damned. It is included as an optional background representing the strength, safety, and security of your haven. I would recommend taking it if you plan on being a social vampire, or making a lot of enemies. #Herd: If you take Herd you should be able to give a description of who comprises that Herd. Are they a number of specific people rather than a general group? The latter is more likely. You would do well to flesh out a few of them. This doesn't have to be done before play begins, but I want it done over time. Herd and Retainers are NOT interchangeable! Herd are mortals your PC feeds from regularly. Retainers are mortals he has chosen to invest his time, and resources in. Mortals in your Herd do not get that kind of attention. #Influence: See the following section for more information on Influence. #Mentor: Mentor cannot be bought without my approval. There are some questions you can answer ahead of time to speed the discussion along: How much of a role do you want your Mentor to take in your PC's life? How personally powerful do you want your Mentor to be, and in what areas? #Retainers: Retainers are handled differently than in the books. Rather than 1 dot in Retainers buying 1 retainer I'm adding a mechanic for improving existing retainers. This is how it works: 1 dot in Retainers means 1 retainer. Subsequent dots in that specific retainer increases their relevant Dice Pools by 1 from a base pool of 5. Ex: Retainer, Medium 3 would mean you have a largely competent Medium at your disposal. #Resources: A quick sentence or two on where the money is coming from. If its coming from an Influence trait, I need to know that. Likewise if your PC is living off his retirement savings, or if he holds a job or does he spend a few nights a month knocking over ATMs...Those are all viable methods for obtaining money. Influence Those of you familiar with the Minds Eye Theatre (LARP) rules for Vampire: The Masquerade will have an idea how I'm handling Influence in this game. Influence spans many, many categories across many, many interests. This leaves entirely too much gray area for my liking. So this is how we will be handling Influence... All Categories of Influence in my game will have a base of 30 dots available (adjusted as needed). Those 20 dots will be allocated among all NPCs and interested PCs until there are no more. Once all 30 dots are taken that Category is at capacity, and no more will be given out. as that particular Influence is at capacity and cannot safely support anymore Kuei-Jin meddling in it. If you want more, or want to expand into it, you will have to make room through any of a hundred RP-centric ways that I won't be detailing. When you list Influence on your sheet I would like to see it formatted like this: Influence, XXXXX. Where "XXXXX" is the specific category. The reason why I want it done like this is so I do not have to hunt down a specific Influence on your sheet from a huge list of other Backgrounds you will doubtless acquire as you play. The following list of Categories are not complete: A - Bureaucratic - Governmental and business offices, including utilities; the creation and cutting of red tape. Carefully drawn lines exist between Bureaucracy and Legal, Police, Finance, and University. Level 1 - Alter/trace utility bills, expedite minor processes that take time, take advantage of minor bureaucratic loopholes, make files on peoples' traceable activity. Level 2 - Alter birth certificates/driver's license; temporarily close a small road or park, get inspectors sent to locations, cause delays in applications, acquire public aid ($250). Level 3 - Create false ID's, death certificates, marriage licenses, passports; close a public school for a day; shut down a small business on a violation; connect/disconnect utilities on a block. Level 4 - Create false land deeds and titles; initiate phone taps; initiate an NEA/BIA/IRS/DOI investigation, get untraceable utility service, bog down a lawsuit or investigation in red tape. Level 5 - Start, stop, or alter a city-wide program or policy; shut down a big business on a violation; rezone areas; destroy records of a person at the city level, stop a federal investigation. B - Church - The non-secular world, all faiths. Level 1 - Identify secular members of a given faith in local area, peruse public church records, use a church as a meeting place, find an AA meeting, get a priest's phone number. Level 2 - Identify higher church members, track congregation members; suspend lay members, get coffee/bibles/Mass for 100 people on short notice, meet with a rabbi/imam/priest wherever you want. Level 3 - Open or close a single church/temple/mosque, access private archives of the church, meet with the Bishop, get a house ritually sanctified, manipulate a church-owned charity, steal from the collection plate or dip into church funds ($250). Level 4 - Discredit or suspend higher-level members, find an average church-associated hunter or exorcist, manipulate a fanatic splinter group, start a heresy/witchcraft investigation. Level 5 - Organize major protests/boycotts, manipulate regional branches, access ancient church lore, identify someone with True Faith or a church-associated hunter group without meeting them. C - Financial - All things monetary; banks, investment firms, brokers, etc. All loans are amortized over one year to be paid back incrementally every month. Level 1 - Receive a loan ($100,000 - payback $120,000), learn about economic trends, get a dozen accounts all over town, run a credit check on someone, identify whether a bill is counterfeit, get up to $1,000 in cash. Level 2 - Receive a loan ($500,000 - payback $600,000), trace unsecured bank accounts, identify a person's collateral properties, get an insider stock tip. Level 3 - Receive a loan ($2,000,000 - payback $2,400,000), create a secure bank account, access ATM camera tapes, get copies of someone's signature. Level 4 - Receive a loan ($10,000,000 - payback $12,000,000), delay deposits; credit alterations, interfere with specific stock transactions, cause an IRS/SEC audit or investigation. Level 5 - Receive a loan ($50,000,000 - payback $60,000,000), control an aspect of city-wide banking, stop an IRS/SEC audit or investigation, foreclose on a small business. D - High Society - Culture and subculture, fame, fashion, trendsetting. Level 1 - Obtain hard-to-get tickets for shows, get the lowdown on obscure subcultural trends, be the first to get that CD/DVD, hear about parties, learn about who's who. Level 2 - Track celebrities and luminaries, be a local voice in the entertainment field, get invited to the right parties, sit in the front row, get the sneak preview. Level 3 - Crush promising careers, get backstage passes to anything, have rich people ask you for trend advice, be well-known in a subculture or social scene. Level 4 - Achieve temporary minor celebrity status (Fame x1), skip lines, get VIP treatment everywhere, get hit on by beautiful people, know who is doing what with who, set minor trends. Level 5 - Appear on a talk show, ruin a new club/gallery/festival/other high society gathering, have an annual must-attend party with everybody there, meet visiting celebrities in their hotel rooms. E - Industrial - The business of making things, unions. All union thugs are mortals with 6 physical, 3 social, 4 mental, 1 willpower, a craft skill, and 2 brawls. Level 1 - Learn about industrial projects and movements, union membership, borrow portable tools, learn a trade, get a night job, get your car fixed cheap. Level 2 - Have minor projects performed by small crews, arrange small 'accidents' on the job site, get an expert welder to do a job for you, be known as a good member to a single union, dip into union funds or embezzle petty cash ($500) Level 3 - Get a union thug to break something, organize minor strikes, appropriate a blast furnace for a short time, get some silver bullets/vehicle armor/torture devices made. Level 4 - Get a pair of union thugs to burn something down, close or revitalize a small plant, take over a small plant for two weeks, get anyone booted out of any union, initiate an OSHA/EPA inspection. Level 5 - Get half a dozen masked union thugs to kidnap/terrorize someone, manipulate a large local industry, organize a major area strike, manufacture a hundred of anything, stop OSHA/EPA inquiries. F - Legal - Judges, lawyers, law firms, courtrooms, etc. Level 1 - Get free representation for small cases, have a lawyer who answers his phone, sue people for messing with you, learn about someone's holdings/legal status. Level 2 - Avoid bail for some charges, have minor charges dropped, get a quiet settlement when being sued, get a lawyer to build a complete file on someone, create a screen to slow investigations, acess public or court funds ($250). Level 3 - Get good representation, manipulate legal procedures (wills, contracts, etc), start a state investigation, have a lawyer with assistants drown someone in legal briefs. Level 4 - Issue subpoenas, tie up court cases, have most charges dropped, cancel or arrange parole, start a federal investigation of some sort, stop a state investigation. Level 5 - Close down a federal investigation, have deportation proceedings held against someone, get warrants revoked, hide ownership of anything, find a legal weakness to exploit. G - Media - Newspapers, television, radio; local to the Domain. Level 1 - Learn about breaking stories early; submit small articles, know a few reporters to tip, be on college radio, get a letter to the editor published in an underground free press. Level 2 - Suppress small articles or reports, get investigative reporting information, get a photographer to show up, have a reporter in your pocket, get research done on a subject, trace personal ads. Level 3 - Initiate news investigations and reports, access media production resources, start a major investigative story, get a TV news crew to show up with satellite feed, make an independent film. Level 4 - Initiate a fake story with local attention, influence story selection, get an editor to kill a story, get a TV series to do a local episode, get radio personalities fired, kill an underground 'zine. Level 5 - Initiate a fake story with statewide attention, get newspaper people fired, affect the storyline of a TV show, change a radio station's format, own an unaffiliated local TV station, stop any one story. H - Medicine - Hospitals, blood banks, doctors. No bioweapons without the OK from all STs. Level 1 - Gain 2 blood traits, fake vaccination records, get medical supplies (latex gloves, biohazard stickers, syringes), be first in line at the ER, get a wheelchair van delivered. Level 2 - Gain 5 blood traits, access to minor medical records, get a copy of a coroner's report, get an ambulance to make a run with no record, get a doctor to make a house call. Level 3 - Gain 10 blood traits, corrupt results of tests or inspections, alter medical records, get a gunshot wound treated quietly, schedule patients for surgeries without their permission. Level 4 - Gain 20 blood traits, instigate a minor quarantine, acquire a cadaver, destroy medical records, have people institutionalized or released, start a CDC/AMA investigation, abuse grants for personal use ($250). Level 5 - Gain 50 blood traits, have a special research project performed, shut down a business for health code violations, stop a CDC/AMA investigation, close a doctor's office or two. I - Occult - Secret and fringe groups, libraries, experts and shops specializing in the paranormal. Level 1 - Contact common occult groups and practices, join a fringe religion, learn about new trends or dangers to the occult subculture, acquire candles, bones, crystals, etc. of decent quality. Level 2 - Access to resources for most rituals and rites, research the first level of an Expert Ability: Lore in a paranormal subject - Cainite, Thanatology, Garou, Mage, etc. (Blank Lore Ability 1). Level 3 - Access to rare material components, occult tomes, and writings, research a Basic Ritual from your Path, research Blank Lore Ability 2, manipulate a local cult, get a Loremaster to answer a question, milk impressionable wannabes for $$$ ($250) Level 4 - Know where to find certain supernatural entities, research an Intermediate Ritual from your Path, unearth a common Thaumaturgical/Necromantic Path, research Blank Lore Ability 3. Level 5 - Access minor magic items, unearth an Advanced Ritual from your path, unearth an uncommon Thaumaturgical/Necromantic Path, research Blank Lore Ability 4, meet with a demon/mage/spectre. J - Police - Law enforcement personnel, jails, prisons, and police stations. Level 1 - Gather police information and rumors, avoid traffic tickets, understand a scanner, find incarcerated people, ask a patrolman what he's noticed on his beat. Level 2 - Have license plates checked, avoid minor violations, get a cop to keep an eye on your haven, know a desk sergeant at a precinct house, get rap sheets, learn about current investigations. Level 3 - Find bureau secrets, get copies of an investigation report, have police hassle, harass, book, or detain someone, initiate a local or state criminal investigation, call in a major helicopter search. Level 4 - Access confiscated weapons or contraband; start an FBI/ATF/DEA investigation; have serious charges dropped, frame someone for a felony, call in a SWAT team, make a police station your haven, obtain money, either fromt he evidence room or as an appropriation ($1,000) Level 5 - Institute major multi-branch investigations, arrange setups/stings, have officers fired, stop a local FBI/ATF/DEA investigation, frame someone for a series of felonies. K - Politics - elected officials; judges, sheriffs, mayors, state and congressional representatives and senators, county commissioners, and City Councils. Level 1 - Minor lobbying, identify real platforms of politicians, find out about major donors to campaigns, get campaign signage, buttons, stickers, etc. Level 2 - Meet small time politicians, have forewarning of laws forthcoming, get appointments with your representatives, get demographic information, use a slush fund or fund-raiser to get funds ($1,000) Level 3 - Sway or alter political projects, manipulate local committees, lunch with a suburban mayor or judge, get a quick passport or permit, identify agendas of any elected or appointed official. Level 4 - Enact minor legislation, dash careers of minor politicians, be a major player in a suburb, run a local party PAC, be a City Councilor, start a federal bar inquiry. Level 5 - Get your candidate in minor office, enact more encompassing legislation countywide, control a block of votes on City Council, be a major obstacle to any candidate in the Domain. L - Street - Homeless people, street gangs, unorganized crime. Level 1 - Have an ear open for the word on the street, identify most gangs and their turfs and habits, know your way around homeless shelters, read graffiti and understand it. Level 2 - Live mostly without fear on the underside of society, access small time contraband/drugs, identify any illicit substance, know the Survival obstacles of any given neighborhood. Level 3 - Arrange some services from street people or gangs, get pistols or melee weapons, get a building staked out by homeless watchers, put a rumor out on the street. Level 4 - Mobilize groups of homeless, have a word in almost all gang operations, get shotguns or rifles, get a gang to protect someone, plant drugs on someone with a pickpocket. Level 5 - Initiate drive-by shootings, identify regular police informants, start a small two-gang shootout, use the homeless as couriers/information networks/infiltrators. M - Transportation - By land, lake, or air. Cabs, buses, freeways, trains, shipping, airports. Level 1 - Know what goes where and why, know a cabbie/subway conductor/airport employee/chauffeur, recognize shipments that are unusual or unscheduled, get tickets for sold-out rides. Level 2 - Track a target who's using public transportation, arrange passage within the Domain safe from mundane threats, get specific information from transportation companies, have a limo available. Level 3 - Seriously hamper a single individual's ability to travel for a few days, travel inconspicuously, smuggle one package every two weeks, have an armored lightproof limousine available. Level 4 - Shut down one form of mass transit for a few hours, have an entourage with chase cars available, arrange trucker/pilot/shipping strikes, smuggle one shipping crate every two weeks. Level 5 - Smuggle with impunity, keep a helicopter on station, make someone fitting a description unable to catch a cab for one day, route money your way ($500) N - Underworld - Organized crime; prostitution, arms, gambling, fraud, extortion, auto theft, Mafia. Does not include smuggling or street gangs (Transportation and Street respectively). All thugs are mortals with 6 Physicals, 4 Mentals, 3 Socials, 2 Willpower, 2 Brawl and 2 Firearms. Level 1 - Locate minor contraband, find an illegal card game, know a hooker that's not a cop, get someone's car stolen and chopped, know what to do with a stolen credit card, fence loot and skim from illegal dealings to get cash ($1,000) Level 2 - Obtain pistols on short notice, go and get serious drugs, go and get stolen cars, know a wiseguy, send someone a free prostitute, go and get a few stolen credit cards. Level 3 - Get 2 amateur local thugs to rough someone up for you, obtain a rifle, shotgun, or submachine gun, know where a fence/chop shop/whorehouse/illegal casino is. Level 4 - Get 4 amateur local thugs to shoot a place up for you, have white-collar crime connections, control a single crime ring for 2 weeks, get a place immunized from organized crime. Level 5 - Get 8 amateur local thugs to make someone disappear, arrange gangland assassinations of non-made guys, get a professional firebug to burn something down, get someone's car wired to blow up. O - University - Higher education, research, administration of colleges. Level 1 - Access to low level university resources; obtain copies of school records, get students' social security numbers, identify experts in various fields. Level 2 - Know a contact or two with useful knowledge or skills, get keys to some buildings, fake a registered class schedule, identify the dorm rooms of any type of student. Level 3 - Faculty favors, fix grades, discredit a student, get a term paper written, get an expert to spend time researching for you, 24 hour library access. Level 4 - Organize student protests and rallies, discredit faculty members, get tenure, have a team of grad students attempt your strange project, send in the campus cops. Level 5 - Falsify an undergraduate degree, run of facilities, get a fraternity banned from a campus, change campus policy, access rare books, call it a snow day. Things To Keep In Mind On Backgrounds If you take Mentor, Influence, Contacts, Allies, Resources, etc. You must provide a sentence or two on who, what, and where these things came from and what they do. Don't just tell me you have Influence 3 and its in Transportation. Is it commercial Transportation? Port Authority? Bus system? Subways? Taxi company? Car dealership? A small trucking or delivery company? See what I did there? I just took your vague Influence and made it useless because you can't tell me what its from. Explain them or you won't be able to use them. For more info see the House Rules. On Spending Freebie Points When I see character sheets missing traits we all have it bugs me. Every character should probably have at least a dot in Drive. Without that dot in Drive your character cannot drive a car. Everyone should probably have a dot in Academics. Without a dot in Academics your character did not graduate High School. Think about the last time you talked to someone who didn't graduate High School. You could tell couldn't you? Think very carefully about what those traits say about your character. I understand you can't do a perfect job at it. Do what you can, but don't over look the obvious stuff either. Category:The Basics of Creation